Hey friends and fellow fitocrats!

I have struggled with weight for most of my life. I was really into the music and the arts when I was in high school so my focus was there and I did nothing - literally nothing - athletic. Well, outside of gym class (which was torture). I always wanted to be thinner or more fit but couldn't find the time when I was practicing for 2-3 hours a day and doing homework, blah blah. And I never found the time or interest but I always wanted to be more fit.

So now I'm 33 and I've finally started enjoying exercise, in large part thanks to fitocracy! I think that if I had a smart phone and apps back in the day, I might have enjoyed exercise then too. My goal for last year was to enjoy exercising - not just make peace with it, but enjoy it.

My goals for this year/class are:

to continue eating gluten-free and wheat-free at least for 3 months and then see how I feel (so far I love it!)
to become more fit/get somewhat toned. Specifically, I would like to lose 20 pounds this year with an overall goal of losing 67 pounds to reach my goal weight. I don't need to be ripped but having visible abs and less flab overall would be awesome!
to lose at least two pants sizes during the year (preferably three)
to be able to run two miles at a time (I can't run 1 mile at a time right now)
to not beat myself up over things that are out of my control (like getting sick, because I have bad allergies - telling myself that my "immune system sucks" won't make things better)
to remember that, even if I'm sick I can do weight training, planks, etc.
to improve my balance (I have the balance of a 75-year-old)

I've already started with my first goal (gluten-free) and my fourth goal (trying to not beat myself up over things that are out of my control). So now I just have to get working on the other three. There was one point in my life where I was at what I consider my "ideal" weight. I was working part-time and I walked about 3-6 miles per day. That's when the picture below is from and I'm hoping to work my way back there!

Saying goodbye to gluten, excuses and some extra pounds! - image 1 - student project

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Day 1: January 15, 2013

I'm still getting over a sinus infection and I've never been quite sure on whether it's better to exercise or not when you're sick. So I haven't exercised for a week and a half because when I get sick it's no joke - quickly heads to pneumonia if I'm not super careful. Thankfully just a sinus infection right now. So no exercise, ok.

I'm not beating myself up over being sick though, so that's a start. And I've been gluten-free for about a week and a half also, and that's been amazing. I'm no longer "starving" at lunch time and I don't feel this need to eat. Awesome! I've been making food at home and I'm hoping to expand my range of gluten-free recipes soon!

To improve my balance, I'm going to start standing on one foot when I brush my teeth. Gotta start somewhere.

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Day 2: January 16, 2013

I decided to tackle the "As Seen On TV" quest on fitocracy today because I'm feeling better but I don't want to go to the gym or go running outside yet (with my sinus infection still hanging around a bit). So I said I was going to do that quest and I did it!! I suck at push-ups but I paid close attention to form while doing all of the exercises (which is a big step in and of itself).

I ate GF for breakfast, I will eat GF for lunch and I'm making a healthy GF dinner for my husband and me tonight. I'm cooking again, yay! I did forget to work on my balance but the squats and lunges I did today helped with that too. So far, so good!!

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Day 3: January 17, 2013

I lost almost a pound since yesterday!! Oh, and I took my measurements this morning and posted them to the "Tape Measures are Better Than Scales" group. It's a baseline and I plan to track my measurements weekly.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to use my arms later but I did another workout consisting of "bodyweight" exercises - lunges, squats, jump squats (!) and push-ups. It's my second day doing lunges, squats and push-ups...my legs and arms are kind of sore but in a good way. I've never heard of jump squats but I actually enjoyed them. I have terrible balance so I imagined myself falling over or something but it was great!! I completed two quests on fito today - the "Century Push" and "Push The Earth".

So far I've eaten GF all day and will at dinner as well. I had GF cereal for breakfast with almond milk and some coffee. For lunch I had some GF butternut squash soup and green beans (not mixed, ha). Yum! For dinner I'm having leftovers from last night. (I made this recipe and highly recommend it - I added some quinoa as well.)

Great day, my sinus infection is nearly gone too!

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Day 4: January 18, 2013

I lost another .4 pounds since yesterday so now I've lost 1.1 pounds. Not a ton but amazing for me!

I didn't do any exercise today because I'm so sore. I'm seriously having to work to not look like a robot whose joints are all rusted when I walk. But it's a good thing, I just needed a rest day. Tomorrow I will do more lunges/squats/push-ups/etc or go on a run with my Zombies Run 5k app.

I've eaten GF all day. Cereal for breakfast with almond milk and some coffee (not in the cereal), mixed veggies and some GF toast for lunch. For dinner my husband and I are making GF pizzas at home. Yum!

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Day 5: January 19, 2013

Wow, the GF pizzas last night were amazing! And we will be able to make four pizzas for less than the last time we bought GF pizzas from a restaurant - and the ones we made were better, double win!

We got a medicine ball today (12 lbs)! My legs are still really sore from my first two days of squats and lunges, but I did a few sets of both again for good measure. I also did sit-ups with the medicine ball (which acts as a nice counter-balance - usually I can't do sit-ups on my own), planks, "bicycle" abs, and what fitocracy call "Russian Twists" (with the medicine ball also). My husband and I also walked (leisurely) around an outdoor mall since the weather was so nice today.

We've eaten GF all day and we're having our second batch of GF pizzas for dinner. Yum! Great day. Now hopefully the Clippers win and all will be right with the world. :)

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Day 6: January 20, 2013

I woke up this morning and went for a run/walk using my Zombies Run! 5k training app. It was nice to get back to it, haven't been able to breathe well enough (sinus infection) to do that for a while. But the main thing is - I woke up and decided to exercise and went out and did it!

After I got back, I made a shopping list so that I could make homemade grainless granola (cashews, almonds, pepitas, coconut, etc.), a GF bundt cake (yum!), GF bread (good flavor), homemade turkey sausage and more. I'm really digging in to my new lifestyle.

For dinner, I made BLTs with my homemade bread and uncured bacon. Good stuff! I need to use more bacon next time but good anyway. To round out the day, I played Far Cry 3 with my husband. :) [Me "playing" means I'm watching and on the lookout for enemies and animals that want to kill him. I can't run around in 3D video game space - 2D sidescrollers are about all I can handle. :D ]

Saying goodbye to gluten, excuses and some extra pounds! - image 2 - student project

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Day 7: January 21, 2013

I logged a bunch of exercises today - squats, jump squats, lunges, planks, push-ups, and more! I'm really enjoying exercising and that's just never been me. I've never looked forward to it and I would never have gone out of my way to try and do push-ups before. I would have thought, "Well, you can't do them very well so meh...". How are you supposed to get better at something that you never practice?? Anyway, old me. New me is enjoying this!

In addition to exercise, I made homemade turkey sausage patties (yum!) and egg/broccoli/cheddar/sausage muffin cups. Both recipes come from the Wheat Belly Cookbook. I'm really enjoying the recipes from the book and I feel soooooo much better after cutting out wheat/gluten and reducing grains in general!

I'm tracking my measurements on Thursday so I'm going to post a new pic of myself at this point (to compare with my profile pic). Exciting!

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Day 8: January 22, 2013

Today I completed Week 2, Workout 1 of the Zombies Run! 5k training app. You run for longer intervals now and though I can run longer than the intervals used in the app for today's workout, it was hard to do them with just a 1-minute break in between (towards the end). I think part of my problem is that I've never been that physically active and when my asthma starts kicking in I really have to remind myself that I'm going to be ok, the shortness of breath is temporary, you don't have asthma bad enough to have a real issue, etc. (At least I hope - that's what I'm telling myself!)

I had an egg/broccoli/sausage muffin cup for breakfast. Just one, and I was full! They're delish. Had some coffee too because I love the ritual of it. Lunch was some mixed veggies and another "muffin". I feel great!

Cassie Ehr

Website Manager at Roadtrip Nation

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